Shloka 8
Draupadī’s Grief at Seeing the Heroes in Disguise (द्रौपदी-विषादः / वेष-परिभव-वर्णनम्)
यो<यं राज्ञो विराटस्य कीचको नाम भारत । सेनानी: पुरुषव्यात्र श्याल: परमदुर्मति: ७ ।। स मां सैरन्ध्रिवेषेण वसन््तीं राजवेश्मनि । नित्यमेवाह दुष्टात्मा भार्या मम भवेति वै
yo 'yaṁ rājño virāṭasya kīcako nāma bhārata | senānīḥ puruṣavyāghra śyālaḥ paramadurmatī || sa māṁ sairandhriveṣeṇa vasantīṁ rājaveśmani | nityam evāha duṣṭātmā bhāryā mama bhavetīti vai ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Bhārata, this man—named Kīcaka—belongs to King Virāṭa. He is the commander of the forces, a ‘tiger among men,’ and the king’s brother-in-law, yet of exceedingly wicked intent. Seeing me living in the royal palace disguised as a maidservant, that evil-minded man repeatedly says, ‘You shall be my wife.’”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical collapse that occurs when authority and strength are joined to wicked intent: a powerful court figure abuses his position to coerce a vulnerable person. It implicitly contrasts true nobility (puruṣavyāghra as an ideal) with adharma expressed as lust, coercion, and disregard for consent and propriety.
Vaiśampāyana identifies Kīcaka—Virāṭa’s commander and brother-in-law—as extremely wicked. He has noticed the woman living in the palace in the disguise of a maidservant (sairandhrī) and repeatedly declares that she must become his wife, setting up the central conflict of the Kīcaka episode.